Home insurance and repairs company HomeServe has been fined £750,000 for making an excessive number of silent and abandoned calls.

HomeServe exceeded the limit on the number of abandoned calls it is allowed to make on 42 separate occasions during 1 February and 21 March last year, the communications regulator Ofcom said on Thursday.

This resulted in an estimated 14,756 abandoned calls being made to UK consumers during this time.

HomeServe also placed an estimated 36,218 calls in breach of a rule prohibiting companies from making repeated calls to answerphones within 24 hours, according to the watchdog.

Ofcom said its decision to fine HomeServe was "appropriate and proportionate" to reflect the seriousness of the breach and to act as a deterrent to it and other companies.

It added that it took into account steps taken by HomeServe to comply with the rules on silent and abandoned calls and its offer to compensate consumers who suffered harm from receiving the calls.